Hazel and Grey are a pair of seventeen-year-olds lost in the woods in the middle of the night. They had had sex earlier and Hazel wonders if that is all Grey wants from her. They stumble upon a house. The house looks normal, though all of the lights are on. Grey is apprehensive about approaching. They hide in bushes when suddenly cars of people in scantily clad clothing arrive. Grey feels more comfortable about approaching the house when he notices that it appears to be owned by other Black people. Hazel encourages Grey that they should go inside and use the phone to call Grey’s mom. The story flashes back to a few months in the past: Hazel’s life becomes more complicated as her mentally unstable mother enters a relationship with a man Hazel calls the Monster. The Monster is a questionably wealthy white man who makes Hazel feel uncomfortable. Initially, the Monster takes Hazel’s mother out, giving Hazel a new sense of autonomy at home. Over time, however, the Monster begins spending more and more time at Hazel’s house. He begins commenting on Hazel’s clothing and makeup. Eventually, he becomes dictatorial over Hazel’s relationship with Grey. The Monster and Hazel’s mom announce that they will be getting married and that Hazel has to break up with Grey or there will be consequences. Their reasoning lies in that the relationship is distracting and detrimental to Hazel’s future. Grey had moved to the area a year prior after his brother was murdered. His mother left the abusive man she had been seeing and brought Grey to the area where Hazel lived. In the present, Grey and Hazel approach the porch. Immediately the door opens and they are greeted by a young woman, Garnet, in a promiscuous outfit. She says the two are underdressed but welcomes them inside. In the house, the two pass a dining room full of men appearing to be waiting. They see inside another room where men seem to be counting money. When they see inside the kitchen, Grey is disturbed. He sees a bunch of older men interacting intimately with the younger, scantily clad girls. Grey wants to leave. Hazel refuses to leave until she finds out where they are. They go downstairs where the music is louder and the lights are colorful and flashing. There are more girls down there and a woman in all leather who is scanning the room. Grey is more upset and urgent to leave. Hazel needs to find a bathroom. Hazel goes into the bathroom and Grey is approached by a girl who asks about his date. She tries to get Grey to drink what she is drinking but he will not. Hazel returns and takes the cup from Grey’s hand, drinking it rapidly. She thought it was water but it is not. She enters into a disoriented state. Hazel wants to dance and says that this is likely their last chance to be together. Grey wants to leave. Though, when Hazel wanders after the person offering snacks, Grey follows her, unable to leave her. Neither Hazel nor Grey notice that the woman wearing leather is watching them. That afternoon, their outing to the woods was intended to be a simple picnic. Hazel’s parents had gone away and Hazel thought she had enough time to sneak out and do something memorable with Grey, whom she had been forced to break up with a while before. At home, her mom had started a new job so she was often alone with the Monster. The Monster made her uncomfortable and she was convinced he intended to harm her after she was getting a shower and he tried to open the door. That afternoon, she meets up with Grey who takes her to the woods where he used to live. He leaves a trail of legos and Hazel wonders if this is what it is like to be cared about. Grey talks about how his brother was murdered and how Grey was convinced that his step-father did it. Later, they kiss and have sex for the first time. In the present moment, Hazel wakes up and is paralyzed. She is in a floral room and is greeted by a woman who calls herself the Grand Dame. The Grand Dame welcomes her to the Treasure Chest. She is the woman from earlier in the party in all leather. When her hair is moved aside, her face is badly scarred and disfigured. The woman explains that Hazel has been bathed and that she will need to eat, stretch, be waxed, and be bathed, among other things. The woman concludes that Hazel may be ready to see clients next week if the head of patronage approves of her. The woman will not explain what happens if the head of patronage does not approve. There is a knock on the door and the woman says that her escort is there. Grey enters and carries Hazel to a different, private room. Sapphire is there. Grey asks Sapphire to go get Gleam for Hazel. When she is gone, Grey begins to give an explanation. He explains that he had to lie and say he was selling her to remain undercover when everything went down at the party the previous evening. This place is actually trafficking girls and producing a sedating liquid/drug called Gleam. When they were in the woods, they had fallen asleep. Both of their phones died so they had no light to follow the path back. That is how they stumble upon the house, the Treasure Chest, in the woods. Grey did not realize that because they had been seen by Sapphire, one of the “employees”, in the basement. No intruder is allowed to leave as too much is at stake. The last time an intruder came inside, he was murdered. The intruder was Grey’s twin brother. The twin was curious about where his step-father’s money came from. The Grand Dame received a bunch of acid to the face and the boy was murdered, both in acts of punishment. Sapphire was the girl who gave Grey the liquid while Hazel was in the bathroom. The liquid is called Gleam and it diminishes people’s inhibitions. It also leaves people paralyzed. People begin to believe Grey was actually a dealer. While Hazel was under the influence she became intimate with Sapphire. Grey watches over Hazel and ensures that neither of their covers are blown. After Grey carries Hazel to the new room and sends Saphhire away, Grey leaves gleam pills under Hazel’s pillow with a note that she is to use them in her presentation with the head and to then go to the pantry; Sapphire then arrives with more Gleam for Hazel to drink. While taking a bath with Sapphire the next morning, everything clicks. The room for the interview is off the kitchen, and through the pantry is a hidden exit that Grey discovered. At the interview, Hazel will be dressed promiscuously and serve food to the head of patronage as he evaluates her. Hazel is to put the pills given by Grey in the drink, wait until the man is unconscious, and then escape. Hazel is wearing a mask for the interview. When Hazel enters the room with the food for the head of patronage, she recognizes her step-father, the Monster. She drops the tray and everything spills and breaks. She drops to pick up the broken glass as the Monster approaches. She stabs him and he dies. Hazel and Grey escape. Grey reveals that he stole money from the Treasure Chest while executing the plan. Grey does not share that she and he had the same perverse stepfather.